Three South Korean electric vehicle battery makers accounted for a third of the global market in the first five months of the year, but their share has slightly slipped since last year in the face of toughening competition with Chinese rivals, a market research firm said.

The trio - LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation - supplied a combined 88.4 gigawatt-hour equivalents of EV batteries in the January-May period, up from 33.6 GWh a year earlier, according to the data by SNE Research.

Their sales of EV batteries sharply rose in line with solid demand for battery-powered vehicles by major automakers, but the combined share edged down 34.9 percent a year ago as Chinese manufacturers expanded their presence on their home turf, the world's top EV market. (Yonhap)